There's a linebacker on South Florida by the name of Reshard Cliett that I think will end up on this list. Hasn't done much to this point but he had an outstanding spring. I really look forward to seeing what he will do over the next two years. Don't know if he's the type to come out early.

05-08-2013, 12:17 AM

Digital

Slimm, what are your thoughts on Colt Lyerla? So many people love Austin Seferian-Jenkins (sp?), and he's big and smooth, but I keep finding myself being drawn back to Lyerla's burst and power. He's only 6'4 without great length, but his first step is quick, he accelerates quickly, and has a good top gear. Most speed TE's don't have much pop, but Lyerla can lay the wood as well. Off-field doesn't seem squeaky clean, and I'm not convinced he's a mental giant, but physically, this guy sure flashes some special athletic talent. What are your thoughts on this kid?

05-08-2013, 12:57 AM

ckparrothead

Looks like Lyerla rates pretty low for him. It's interesting that Eric Ebron is his top guy because that's the guy I featured not too long ago on another site. Ebron's movement skills really are wide receiver like but he blocks better than receivers. The nice bonus for Ebron is when you're watching tape of him and then he flips to the defensive side of the ball and rushes the hell out of the passer that way. Reminds me of what Kellen Davis used to do except Ebron is far more flexible.

05-08-2013, 08:09 AM

TedSlimmJr

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital

Slimm, what are your thoughts on Colt Lyerla? So many people love Austin Seferian-Jenkins (sp?), and he's big and smooth, but I keep finding myself being drawn back to Lyerla's burst and power. He's only 6'4 without great length, but his first step is quick, he accelerates quickly, and has a good top gear. Most speed TE's don't have much pop, but Lyerla can lay the wood as well. Off-field doesn't seem squeaky clean, and I'm not convinced he's a mental giant, but physically, this guy sure flashes some special athletic talent. What are your thoughts on this kid?

I think he's probably one of the top 5 athletes in the sport of football period. College or professional. We're talking about a 6'5", 250 pound kid with a 40" vertical, nearly an 11' broad jump, and 4.5 speed. He's a great blocker. I like how Oregon also uses him in the backfield. He moves like a big tailback when they hand him the football... which is why he averages nearly 6 yards/carry. I've seen Oregon insert Lyerla into the game when the offense is struggling and it always results in yardage and TD's when they do. Let me know the next time you see the football in his hands and he's not dragging tacklers with him. His ability in the open field is as rare as it gets for a kid that size.

He's so athletic and explosive that it's typically difficult for coaches to find the best position for the few players like this that come along. Although Oregon is probably the program that has become the most adept at finding versatile athletes and putting them in a variety of different positions. Lyerla reminds me of Brian Urlacher's days at New Mexico.... Lyerla is that unique and athletic. I think he'd be a 1st round pick even if they put him at outside linebacker and left him there. I remember watching him play linebacker in the Army All-American Game coming out of highschool.

To put it bluntly, I'm extremely, extremely high on Colt Lyerla as a football player. It's very simple. Lyerla can block, catch the football, run the football, and tackle... all the basic fundamental aspects that make you a good football player. He does them all naturally. Factor in how special and explosive he is as an athlete, and what you have is a rare player indeed.

05-12-2013, 01:34 PM

ckparrothead

There's an underrated redshirt sophomore tailback by the name of Josh Robinson sitting behind LaDarius Perkins. I think he's probably going to be a better pro than Perkins. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 55 carries in his redshirt freshman year. He's draft eligible but unless Perkins gets hurt and Robinson is able to run for 1200 yards in his place, I imagine he'll stay in school. But he's got my attention. Great at breaking tackles, very quick, fast, instinctive, north-south.

05-23-2013, 11:51 AM

ckparrothead

Hearing talk that your boy Donte Moncrief (whom I agree is a very good prospect) measured out recently at 6'3" and 228 lbs yet ran a 4.44 with a 39 inch vertical and 11'1" broad jump. This according to his WR Coach.

He has some incredible ability.

05-23-2013, 12:10 PM

TedSlimmJr

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckparrothead

Hearing talk that your boy Donte Moncrief (whom I agree is a very good prospect) measured out recently at 6'3" and 228 lbs yet ran a 4.44 with a 39 inch vertical and 11'1" broad jump. This according to his WR Coach.

He has some incredible ability.

He's the premier WR prospect in the country in my opinion, and that's saying something with Marqise Lee and Sammy Watkins in the fold because I'm extremely high on both.

As you'll notice, I compared Moncrief's skillset and ability to Dez Bryant's when he came out of Oklahoma St. It should become fairly obvious as time goes on and people really take notice of how he dominated elite opposition. The best DB's college football has to offer simply can't match his combination of speed, size, strength, explosion, and acceleration. Change of direction and run-after-catch skills are tremendous for a receiver that size. Consistenly displays the mentality and body control to locate the football, and go get it at it's highest point in 50/50 situations. He might even compare to a young Terrell Owens if he's 6'3", 228 pounds.

Play after play studying this kid's film often just leaves me shaking my head. And he was only a sophomore.

05-23-2013, 01:38 PM

ckparrothead

The more I see of him the more I think that was a really good call. He could've had about 300 yards and 5 TDs in that LSU game.

I can definitely see why you might put Moncrief at the top of the class. When you think about the other three guys at the top, between Mike Evans' potential lack of top line speed, Marqise Lee's mental lapses and lack of maturity, and Sammy Watkins' off field issues getting arrested and put up on drug charges...there are flaws that could result in Moncrief being put above any or all of those guys. Moncrief seems like the cleaner prospect among the four who I would consider to be in a class of their own for the 2014 NFL Draft.

05-24-2013, 02:10 PM

TedSlimmJr

Make no mistake, I've long been sold on Marqise Lee as a football player and firmly believe in his natural athleticism. Extremely strong hands. However, he simply hasn't faced the level of competition that Moncrief has routinely dominated throughout his career. I watched Desmond Trufant completely shut Marqise Lee down. Moncrief thoroughly wears out DB's of this caliber with a liability at times throwing him the football.